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Downtown Waco Gets 312-Unit, 14-Story Tower to Ease Housing Shortage
The proposed Brazos Commons development would add 312 units to a downtown corridor already under pressure from rising rents and limited supply.
How we reported this
A developer has filed plans with the City of Waco to build a 14-story mixed-use apartment tower at the corner of Franklin Avenue and South 5th Street, in the heart of downtown. The project, called Brazos Commons, would deliver 312 residential units, roughly 8,000 square feet of street-level retail, and a six-level parking structure. If the Waco City Council approves the necessary variance at its August 4 meeting, construction could break ground before the end of the year.
The timing matters. Waco's rental market has run tight for the better part of three years, driven by Baylor University enrollment pushing past 21,000 students and an influx of remote workers who have relocated from the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex seeking lower cost of living. Average asking rents for a one-bedroom apartment in the 76701 zip code hit $1,340 per month in June, according to figures compiled by the McLennan County Appraisal District, up roughly 18 percent from June 2023. Supply simply has not kept pace.
What the Project Would Actually Add
Brazos Commons is designed to target the middle and upper segments of the rental market. Developer filings list projected rents between $1,450 for a studio and $2,800 for a two-bedroom with a Brazos River view. That price point sits well above the citywide median but is not out of line with what newer buildings near Magnolia Market at the Silos, roughly six blocks north on Webster Avenue, have been commanding since 2024.
The project would be the tallest residential structure in McLennan County by several floors, surpassing the eight-story Waco Hippodrome lofts on Austin Avenue. City planning staff noted in a preliminary review memo that the building's height requires a special exception under Waco's downtown overlay district rules, which currently cap residential towers at ten stories without council approval. That exception is not automatic, and at least two neighborhood associations, the Historic Neighborhood Alliance of East Waco and the Sanger Heights Neighborhood Association, have already requested speaking time at the August 4 session.
The retail component on the ground floor is designed to activate what has historically been a dead-zone stretch of Franklin Avenue between the Waco Convention Center and the Waco-McLennan County Library. Planning documents show the developer has held preliminary talks with two regional restaurant groups and a fitness concept, though no leases have been signed.
Spillover Effects on the Broader Market
Three hundred and twelve units is not an insignificant number for a city of roughly 140,000 people. Real estate analysts who track the Central Texas corridor point to the absorption rate as the key variable. Waco averaged about 95 new apartment deliveries per year between 2020 and 2025, so Brazos Commons alone would represent more than three years' worth of typical supply hitting the market in a single building.
If lease-up runs smoothly, industry benchmarks suggest 18 to 24 months for a project this size in a secondary market, the added inventory should exert modest downward pressure on rents across the downtown and Sanger Heights submarkets. Owners of smaller complexes along Colcord Avenue and near the Valley Mills Drive corridor may feel that pressure first, because those properties compete most directly on price with the lower end of Brazos Commons's unit mix.
For would-be buyers, the signals are more mixed. Waco's for-sale condo market remains thin, the MLS logged just 14 condo closings downtown in the first half of 2026, and a large rental tower does nothing to change that directly. But sustained development activity does tend to bring ancillary investment: street improvements, new retail tenants, and the kind of foot traffic that makes ownership feel less speculative.
The August 4 council session begins at 6 p.m. at Waco City Hall, 300 Austin Avenue. Residents who want to submit written comments to the planning department must do so by July 25. For anyone renting downtown right now, it's worth watching: the outcome of that single vote will shape what Waco's rental market looks like well into the next decade.
This article is general information only and is not personal financial or investment advice. Consider your own circumstances and seek licensed professional advice before making financial decisions.